Bar code scanning can streamline several retail processes. In this month's Retail Solutions Forum, Gina Gallo, executive VP of sales and marketing at Stratix Corporation, a major enterprise mobile solution provider since 1983; Mark Self, VP of retail industry solutions group at Symbol Technologies, Inc.; and Paula Rosenblum, VP of research and content at Retail Systems Alert Group, discuss trends in the uses of bar code scanning.

What are the most prevalent uses of mobile bar code scanners?
Rosenblum: The most prevalent use of mobile bar code scanners in stores remains in backroom operations  specifically, merchandise receiving, transfers, and returns to vendor processing [26% of respondents to our 2005 POS service survey identified this]. Mobile bar code scanners are also used for taking physical inventory, but these devices are often brought in by outside agencies, which use batch uploads of actual physical item counts.

There is far more penetration in DCs (than in stores), where bar code scanners are used to track merchandise at every step along the way  from the arrival of a truck through receipt, allocation, and shipment of goods to the stores. We also see increasing penetration of mobile bar code scanners for line busting at the POS and price checks in the body of the store. In some retail sectors, mobile bar code scanners are also used to facilitate merchandise reordering.

Self: I've found that the most prevalent use of mobile computers equipped with bar code scanners is replenishment, price management, and inventory management. There are a number of subapplications within each of these retail functions. Replenishment can take the form of order entry in the mass merchant segment and computer-generated ordering in the grocery segment. Price-management applications include price markdowns for specialty retailers and price verification solutions for drug stores. Lastly, inventory management occurs via quarterly inventories and/or cycle counts for department stores.   

Gallo: Mobile bar code applications grew from the retailer's backroom onto the selling floor as the need for information at the point of activity grew.  The view of the supply chain no longer ends at the point of retailers' receiving doors. Therefore, very few retailers are without mobile bar code scanners in the backroom, and many have extended their usage onto the sales floors and even outside the four walls [parking lots, mall kiosks, and delivery trucks]. Today, the most prevalent uses still reside on the distribution side of the retailer's supply chain; however, we are seeing a large increase in bringing the backroom activity onto the sales floor. Receiving and shipping, along with transfers, returns, inventory, and price changes, are all the basic block and tackle' mobile bar code applications. However, we are seeing large investments on assisted shopping applications with mobile bar code scanning. The ability to service the customer at the point of activity has become critical to a retailer's success.

What advantages are retailers receiving with bar code scanning solutions?
Rosenblum: The critical factor is to have these solutions connected to the store network, in real time. Anomalies in data capture can be found far more quickly when scanners are networked. For example, one may need to complete a reality check' with a worker who requests a reorder of merchandise that is already listed as in-stock or on-order. Certainly, using mobile bar code devices for price checks adds more convenience to the customer experience.  

Self: Retailers are using these mobile computers to improve workforce productivity, and in many cases, saving more than 100 hours of labor per week  a significant improvement over work completed with paper and pencil. Retailers benefit from more accurate data, increased sales, a reduction of out-of-stocks, and improved customer service. The benefits realized with these solutions translate into a savings equal to 1% to 3% of annual sales for many retailers.  

Gallo: Retailers were the early adopters of bar code scanning because of the tremendous benefits realized in both reduced labor costs and increased accuracy of data in their distribution and store operations. However, the advantage retailers have in today's wireless mobile computing capabilities is the real-time visibility of information. This enables store managers to become a part of the decision-making process for inventory and pricing, as well as finding the right product at the right price for customers.  

Do you see a preponderance of retail subverticals seeking mobile bar code scanners
(e.g. grocers, apparel retailers)?
Rosenblum: No, I don't see one area prospering over another. All retailers use mobile scanning for different reasons.

Self: Mobile computers equipped with bar code scanners are in use at every tier-one retailer, including segments of retail such as general merchandise, food, and drug stores.

Gallo: Yes, we are seeing a heightened interest and subsequent investment in customer-facing mobile applications, which provide both mobile computing and kiosks as a means to offer better service customers.  Both in specialty retail and in the specialty departments of larger footprint apparel retailers, there is a focus on associates knowing more about products.  The bar code is still a great medium to provide product information directly to a mobile computer and/or kiosk.

What software is necessary for retailers to access systems remotely? 
Self: Enterprise databases [e.g. Oracle, DB2, SQL] coupled with appropriate supply chain applications allow mobile computers to access in-store servers. (Editor's note: all major suppliers of wireless technology must adhere to standards established by the IEEE [Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers] 802.11x WiFi Alliance.)

Gallo: Remote access within the four walls requires retailers to install a wireless infrastructure [802.11x], which will connect into their local servers and/or centralized enterprise database. Most retailers have leveraged thin client mobile computing applications that are operational specific [i.e. warehouse management, inventory applications]. Newer applications, such as mobile point of sale, tend to be custom applications using the retailer's existing infrastructure.

Where do you think mobile bar code scanners will take retailers in the future?
Rosenblum: There is talk of cell phones being used by customers for their own price checks, but there is some concern about this possibility. Software already exists that enables a picture of a bar code to be transmitted to a retailer to identify a SKU for price checking purposes.  

Many benefits attributed to RFID [radio frequency identification] can also be credited to mobile bar code scanners. Such benefits include identifying a loyal customer, recommending cross sells and upsells based on products on hand, and recognizing past buying patterns. We anticipate increased adoption of mobile bar code scanners being used to help retailers of fast-moving consumer goods in computer-assisted ordering scenarios.

Self: Mobile computers are equipped with bar code scanners and/or imagers [which take pictures of the bar codes and then decode them]. These devices are shared between store-level associates who need to complete the order or price markdowns. Recently, EDAs [enterprise digital assistants], which are similar in form to a commercial PDA but more durable and equipped with wireless capabilities and bar code scanners, are being offered for store managers and supervisors. These devices enable managers to spend more time on the sales floor. Retailers report that managers using EDAs are back on the sales floor an average of eight additional hours per week. Next, we will see devices enabling all necessary store functions, so eventually everyone who works in stores will have their own mobile computer with a bar code scanner. Eventually, retailers won't be able to afford to do business without these devices.

Gallo: Covergence of technology in the mobile bar code scanners will allow retailers to extend their current wireless investment. The ability to provide voice, data, LAN, and WAN onto a mobile scanning device will offer on-the-job associate training, directed task management, inventory alerts, and multichannel services. Retailers want persistent connections with their associates and customers, so you will begin to see opportunities to leverage customer loyalty in new ways, such as hot spot availability and home delivery service, guided with a more knowledgeable associate. The retailer is likely to have the right product at the right price and learn more about its customer during the process.